Cloth doll with sleeping eyes



ZJB LQZQ Nov. 1, 1938. N. REDLICH, JR

CLOTH DOLL WITH SLEEPING EYES Filed Feb. 27, 1956 INVENTOR. Ni? 771/7 R504 /C//J??.

Patented Nov. 1, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to dolls, and, more particularly, to dolls made of a relatively soft and flexible cloth or fabric-like textile material.

Heretofore, in the manufacture of dolls, only 5 dolls having a head made of a rigid material, for example, china, wood flour composition, and the like, have been provided with sleeping eye effect derived by simply placing dolls on their backs. Cloth dolls and similar dolls made substantially or entirely of a flexible textile material could not be provided with movable or sleeping eyes because a head made of flexible material provided no suit able support for the sleeping eye moving mechanism. Moreover, the head made of a flexible or soft material was easily deformed, which, of course, would have seriously interfered with the correct operation of the eye mechanism. Therefore, dolls made of a flexible material have usually been provided with painted or rigidly inserted eyes which only had a limited sales appeal, and which eliminated the full play value and child interest as provided by dolls with sleeping eyes.

The art was confronted with the problem which was very serious since cloth dolls and similar dolls 25 made of textile and other flexible or soft materials lack rigidity and structural strength. These cloth dolls have otherwise been very popular in the trade, especially due to the fact that they have not been subject to breakage during playing, that they are light in weight and are soft and that they are easily played with by younger children.

Moreover, parents generally preferred dolls made of a soft material which could not break and which would not hurt the child like dolls with hard heads. On the other hand, the impossibility of inserting movable eyes in cloth dolls greatly reduced their appeal to the prospective buyer or to the child so that although a fair volume of business has been done in this type of dolls, sales have generally been lagging far behind that of conventional china and similar dolls with hard heads. The problem has been generally recognized in the art for a considerable length of time, and numerous suggestions and proposals have been made from time to time to solve the outstanding problem, but none, as far as I am aware, of these various suggestions and proposals has been completely satisfactory and successful when carried into practice on a practical and commercial scale.

I have discovered that the problem may be solved in a remarkably simple manner.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved form of construction for dolls of the character described, and particularly for cloth dolls, which permits the insertion of movable or sleeping eyes in dolls heads made of cloth and similar fabric composition of low mechanical strength and of a flexible character.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved structure for the heads of cloth dolls for the sleeping or movable eye mechanism which structure forms an integral unit and which structure can be readily inserted and will operate satisfactorily in dolls heads made of a soft and flexible fabric.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved form of construction for dolls which combines a relatively soft and flexible, durable head and body portion with a movable or sleeping eye mechanism, which is attractive, and which has a strong sales appeal for an adult as well as a child.

The invention also contemplates an improved cloth doll having movable or sleeping eyes which may be readily manufactured from readily available and standardized parts in a simple and inexpensive manner and on a practical and commercial scale.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates a vertical sectional view of a dolls head embodying the principles of the present invention; and

Fig. 2 depicts a rear elevational view, with parts broken away for the purposes of clarity, of the dolls head shown in Fig. 1.

Broadly stated, I provide according to the principles of my invention a substantially rigid reinforcing element and fixture in the relatively soft and flexible head. I prefer to arrange this reinforcing element and fixture, or brace, in the form of a horizontal cross rod and side shoulders which may be made of wood, of compositions including Bakelite, wood flour, of metal, of Celluloid, of rubber, etc., which may be fastened into the head by any appropriate means and which imparts rigidity to the head without material loss of softness and maintains it in proper shape, especially in the cross-sectional plane of the eyes. I attach a conventional and standard sleeping eye mechanism to the reinforcing element and fixture to assure a constant or fixed distance between the eyes in the eye sockets of the dolls head. The movable or sleeping eye mechanism preferably comprises a stationary transverse member or bridge with prongs adapted to be attached to the reinforcing element and fixture and a transverse shaft or pin carrying the two eyes and rotatably mounted in the transverse member. I also mount a conventional counterweight to said pin so that under the influence of gravity the said pin will be rotated and the eyes will be displaced into the open or closed position in accordance with the position of the dolls head, as those skilled in the art will readily understand. For further reinforcement of the flexible head, I prefer to insert a suitable reinforcing board made of cardboard or the like which is light and strong sheet-like material and which reinforces the head in at least one of the sectional planes thereof, and which conforms to the inner surface and shape of the head. In addition to providing a considerable and desirable reinforcement of the otherwise flexible head portion, this reinforcing board has the additional object of isolating the eye moving mechanism in a separate compartment or chamber which is completely separated from the other portions of the head. The remaining part of the space within the head may be filled with a soft filling material such as cotton waste, wool, kapok, or some other natural or artificial product of a light and compressible character which fill out the head without the danger of interfering with the displacement or correct operation of the eye moving mechanism.

The invention will now be more fully explained to those skilled in the art, in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, a head i made of a relatively soft and flexible fabric or cloth is provided, having a pair of eye sockets 9 arranged therein. A horizontal reinforcing rod 2 made of wood or some other strong and light material or composition is provided within and extends across the head and is attached to the inner sides thereof by means of cementing, nailing, and the like. Shoulder blocks 3 made of similar material are attached to the ends of the reinforcing rod 2 and have the purpose of providing a larger reinforcing surface at the sides of the head and of providing a base for holding the eye prong of the eye moving mechanism proper. In practical operation I prefer to have the shoulder blocks 3 attached by means of dove-tailing, lock-jointing gluing, nailing or the like to the ends of cross rod 2. Of course, the shoulder blocks may be integral with rod 2 and instead of wood may be also made of a suitable molded plastic material or other suitable composition such as wood flour or the like, if desired. It is to be noted that the cross rod and the associated shoulder blocks are arranged within the head in such manner that they will impart rigidity to the head substantially in the plane of the eye moving mechanism without, however, causing material reduction or loss of softness.

The eye moving mechanism proper comprises a stationary transverse member or bridge 4 preferably made of metal which is fastened to shoulder blocks 3 by means of prongs. The eyes 8 are mounted on a shaft or pin-5 which is rotatably mounted on ears 4a of member 4. An arm 6 is rigidly connected to pin 5 and has a counterweight I mounted at the end thereof whereby a gravitational force is imparted to the eye moving mechanism. A pair of eyes 8 co-operate with a pair of eye sockets 9 provided in the head of the doll in the conventional manner and are adapted to open when the head is held in a vertical position and to close or shut when the head is held in an inclined or in a horizontal position, as those skilled in the art will readily understand.

A reinforcing board In made of cardboard or some other sheet-like material of substantial strength which is bent to a U-shape and which has its outlines conforming to the inner surface of the head, is arranged within the head. This reinforcing board has the object of preserving the shape of the head and of further reinforcing the structure of the flexible head and thereby preventing relative displacements of the eye moving mechanism and of the eye sockets and the surrounding portions of the head. At the same time, the reinforcing board also provides a substantially closed compartment within the head for encasing the eye moving mechanism and for protecting it from injury or deformation. This is particularly important in view of the fact that the remaining space in the head is preferably filled out with a soft and flexible filling material H, such as cotton waste, kapok, felt and the like, which in the absence of the reinforcing board i0 would completely fill out the cavity of the head and would obviously interfere with the proper operation of the eye moving mechanism.

A circular reinforcing member or disk I2 is inserted into the neck portion of the head in contact with the lower side of the reinforcing board IQ. A pin or wire i3 having a washer i4 associated therewith is inserted through the lower side of reinforcing board I0 and the center of reinforcing disk l2 and serves for holding the a reinforcing board and disk in their correct position Within the head and for attaching the head to the body portion of the doll, (not shown). I have found that the upper portions of the reinforcing board lEl are satisfactorily maintained in the desired position by means of the pressure of the filling material II.

In view of the simplicity of construction, the operation of my improved dolls head will be readily. understood by those skilled in the art without any further explanation.

It will be noted that the doll construction according to the principles of my invention provides a number of important advantages. First of all, practically the first time in the history of the art an improved doll is provided which combines the unbreakable and safe cloth doll structure with the attractiveness of movable or sleeping eyes, which combination was heretofore impossible.

It is also to be observed that I provide a novel and improved structure for an eye mechanism for dolls heads which forms a relatively simple and integral unit, which can be readily inserted, and'which will operate satisfactorily in dolls heads made out of indestructible and flexible fabric, cloth, compositions thereof or the like.

Moreover, my improved doll construction is very attractive, simple and inexpensive and may be readily manufactured in quantity at a relatively low price.

Although I have described my invention in connection with a preferred embodiment thereof, many variations and modifications may be resorted to by those skilled in the art without departing from the principles of the present invention. I consider all of these variations and modifications as within the true spirit and scope of my invention as disclosed in the present description and defined by the appended claims.

1. In doll construction, the combination which comprises a head made .of a relatively flexible textile material, a pair of eye sockets arranged in said head, a horizontal reinforcing rod within and extending across said head, shoulder blocks attached to the ends of said reinforcing rod and providing a substantial reinforcing surface at the sides of the head, said reinforcing rod and said shoulder blocks being adapted to impart rigidity to said head substantially in the plane of said eye sockets without material loss of softness, a stationary transverse member mounted in between said shoulders, a shaft rotatably mounted in said transverse member, a pair of dolls eyes rigidly connected to said shaft and forming a single rotatable unit therewith adapted to co-operate with said eye sockets, and a counterweight associated with said shaft and adapted to cause rotation thereof.

2. In doll construction, the combination which comprises a head made of a relatively flexible fabric, a pair of eye sockets arranged in said head, a horizontal reinforcing rod extending across said head and attached to the inner sides thereof, shoulder blocks attached to the ends of said reinforcing rod and providing a substantial reinforcing surface at the sides of the head, said reinforcing rod and said shoulder blocks being adapted to impart rigidity to said head substantially in the plane of said eye sockets without material loss of softness, a stationary transverse member having prongs at the ends thereof inserted in between said shoulder blocks, a shaft rotatably mounting in said transverse member, a pair of dolls eyes rigidly connected to said shaft and forming a single rotatable unit therewith adapted to co-operate with said eye sockets, counterweight means associated with said shaft and adapted to cause rotation thereof, and a reinforcing board inserted in said head and providing a substantially closed compartment for the eye moving mechanism.

3. In doll construction, the combination which comprises a head made of relatively flexible fabric and having a pair of eye sockets arranged therein, a horizontal reinforcing member attached to the inner sides of said head, shoulder blocks attached to the ends of said reinforcing rod, said reinforcing member and said shoulder blocks being adapted to impart rigidity to said head substantially in the plane of said eye sockets without material loss of softness, a stationary transverse member having prongs at the ends thereof inserted in between said shoulder blocks, a shaft rotatably mounted in said transverse member, a pair of dolls eyes rigidly connected to said shaft and forming a single rotatable unit therewith adapted to co-operate with said eye sockets, counterweight means associated with said shaft and adapted to cause rotation thereof, a reinforcing board inserted in said head having its outlines substantially conforming to the inner surface of said head and providing a substantially closed compartment for the eye moving mechanism, and a filling material filling out the space between said reinforcing board and the back of said head.

4. In doll construction, the combination which comprises a relatively flexible head having a pair of eye sockets arranged therein, a horizontal reinforcing rod having shoulder blocks associated with the ends thereof attached to the inner sides of said head substantially at the height of the eyes, said reinforcing rod and said shoulder blocks being adapted to impart rigidity to said head substantiallyin the plane of said eye sockets without material loss of softness, a stationary transverse member inserted in between said shoulder blocks, a shaft rotatably mounted in said transverse member, a pair of dolls eyes rigidly connected to said shaft and forming a single rotatable unit therewith adapted to co-operate with said eye sockets to simulate open and closed eyes, counterweight means associated with said shaft and adapted to cause rotation thereof, a U-shaped reinforcing board inserted in said head having its outlines substantially conforming to the inner surface of said head and providing a substantially closed compartment for the eye moving mechanism, a filling material filling out the space between said reinforcing board and the back of said head, and a reinforcing disk positioned in the neck portion of said head,

NATHAN REDLICH, JR. 

